The Trump administration plans to rescind the decades old Roadless Rule in National Forests, to decrease wildfire risks. Elizabeth Ward with Wisconsin’s John Muir Sierra Club Chapter says the rule was the subject of extensive public input prior to enactment in 2001.

Unfortunately, we have a lot less than that. So the USDA has opened a comment period that closes in mid-September. So people can comment on their website where they announced the plans to rescind the roadless rule. And that shortened comment period and lack of public hearings means more people have to go and comment than there was in getting the rule in the first place.

Michael Dombeck is a Wisconsin native, and UW Stevens Point alumnus. Dombeck was directly involved in developing the roadless rule while leading the U.S. Forest Service. He doubts rescinding it will have much effect in decreasing wildfires.

“All the data and the information, even the Forest Service’s own data published by their researchers do not support that. In fact, the fact is that most of the fire starts are human caused, some 80%. And of those fires that are ignited, about 97% are put out in initial attack. But those that get away the 2 to 3% that get away are almost always under very extreme weather conditions with high winds, very low humidities, and are literally explosive in nature and become very intense. The bottom line is the more people you have using an area in very dry conditions by increasing human activity in these areas, the data shows we’re going to see an increase in fire starts.”

UW Stevens Point Assistant Professor in Forest Ecology, Michael Tiller says while there may be some upside to allowing temporary roads, he also echoes Dombeck’s concerns.

There are some 69,000 roadless acres representing less than 5 percent of Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicollet National Forest. That may sound like a lot, but Sierra Club’s Ward notes that is just a fraction of the forest’s 1.5 million acres.

Public comments on rescinding the roadless rule must be received by midnight on September 21. To comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement, go to Regulations.gov. More information is available  on the Forest Service Roadless Areas webpage.